Most low cost housing beneficiaries either work in the informal sector with little income to meet all their basic needs, or do not work at all. They live in poverty because many of them are unskilled, unemployed, poorly represented economically, politically and socially. Hence the new South African Housing Policy is said to be enabling the housing environment to play a more meaningful role in job creation and employment sustainability. This is said to be achieved through skills transfer and giving support to small businesses which are geared towards more labour intensive opportunities. Job creation, in the context of this study, means training ,and the use of housing beneficiaries in housing construction. The provision of skills enhances beneficiaries to engage in self-employment programmes. Sustainability, on the other hand, looks at the use of dwelling units for small business purposes, the proximity of housing projects in relation to areas of employment, and the transfer of skills from place to place when required. After conducting a survey of 98 beneficiaries, the study revealed a lack of an effective mechanism for job creation and employment sustainability within greenfields housing projects. In order to provide both guidelines and recommendations for the effective implementation of housing projects, this dissertation assesses the extent to which greenfields housing projects have been able to create and sustain employment opportunities for housing beneficiaries. Case studies used to assess this aspect are Wiggins uMkhumbane in Cato Manor and Westrich in Newlands West. This study outlines failures and successes in the manner in which the above mentioned housing projects were implemented in relation to the creation and sustainability of income generating activities. This dissertation is structured as follows: The first chapter introduces the research problem, research question hypothesis, and the research method used to conduct the study. The second chapter provides both the conceptual framework and the literature review for the topic being investigated. International, national and local case studies are used to support the flow of the argument. Chapter three introduces the geographical and historical background of case studies in which the study was conducted. This historical background is linked to the topic of study to help to understand the phenomenon of employment. Chapter four deals with the presentation and analysis of data collected. The conclusion drawn from the findings and recommendations are found in chapter five. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Arch)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

Informal settlement areas (often referred to as squatter settlements or squatter camps) exist in all provinces of South Africa. These areas are characterized by rapid and unplanned development. The result of these is that property boundaries in most of these areas are not surveyed. Since the plots do not have boundary beacons, the land parcel is not properly defined and therefore, the property cannot be registered in the user or owner's name. Consequently, ownership is not guaranteed. Thus there are no legal documents to prove the relationship between an individual and the property. This paper discusses the problems in the land reform process that can be attributed to the existence of informal settlements. The paper is based on a research carried out to assess the effect of informal settlements on the success of the land reform programme in South Africa. A review of literature on the land reform programme and its implementation plan was carried out. The research also included a literature review on informal settlements in relation to property ownership, cadastral surveying and land registration. Three informal settlements in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa were identified for study. These included Cato Manor and Umlazi section CC in Durban and Peace Valley 2 in Pietermaritzburg. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The Housing Department of the eThekwini Municipality implemented a home-ownership programme in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province. The programme aimed at selling state-financed flats to tenants of the Municipality. The sale of these flats was in terms of the Sectional Title development scheme. The research study undertaken was to analyze and evaluate the implementation of this programme. In conducting the research study, a global perspective on the delivery of public housing was obtained. There are challenges globally; there is inadequate delivery of housing by governments both in developing and developed countries. Whilst there are new strategies being formulated by governments, for e.g. housing associations and social housing; there is lack of support by government to sustain these housing programmes. The research study was undertaken within a systems approach. The use of this approach enabled a holistic enquiry process into the study. Through the systems approach the researcher was able to look at not only the components in the system, but also the interaction and the connectedness between components. The Critical Systems Thinking as a meta-methodology allowed the use of more than one methodology for the research study, i.e. Critical Systems Heuristics and Quantitative Study. The Critical Systems Heuristics methodology was used to analyze and evaluate a policy decision made by Government to sell State-Financed flats to tenants. This research study focused on the officials of the eThekwini Municipality. The second research study was Quantitative and targeted trustees within bodies corporate. The analysis of the data that was collated highlighted the following: While the decision for the sale of flats to tenants in order to promote home ownership emerged as a good decision, there is never the less a need to include in the programme an extensive post sales programme that includes training, education and a support network for bodies corporate The communication between tenants and the Housing Department was extensive until the transfer of the flats to the tenants and thereafter communication was very limited One of the main challenge faced in this programme is the financial management of bodies corporate There appears to be challenges of promoting and maintaining social cohesion. Whilst the programme to promote home-ownership has been well-received by beneficiaries, the progamme lacked a supportive post-sales programme and hence viewed as incomplete. Two broad recommendations were: Ongoing programme with bodies corporate: There needs to be training and education programmes available for the post sales period. The programmes should be designed to benefit both newly appointed trustees and exiting ones Supportive Network: The Housing Department needs to initially provide funding and facilitate a process to for the creation and sustainability of network forums. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.Sc.U.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The aim of the dissertation is to examine the costs in township housing and to identify some major issues and concepts by means of a case study for consideration by planners. The study is divided into three main sections. The first deals with some concepts of cost, the need for cost awareness, and a justification of the dissertation topic. The South African low income housing policy is also discussed insofar as it is of concern for planners. The second section consists of a case study of a case study of the Phoenix New Town design. An alternative to that of the Phoenix design is put forward and both are then evaluated in terms of criteria specifically formulated for that purpose. The last section concerns the conclusions of the case study, and contains some policy and design implications for planners. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, 1979.

Obtaining access to housing is the greatest hurdle for women throughout the developed and the developing world. However, this phenomenon varies from country to country, and it is determined by the level of each country's economical and technological development. Social and political power relations of a country also play a crucial role in determining who is to be provided with housing, where and when. Patriarchal family structures and government policies often marginalise women regarding their access to housing. In South Africa during the period when the Nationalist Party was in power (between 1948 and 1993), Black women were prevented from obtaining access to housing in formal urban townships. This was also the time when an influx of Black people to urban areas was occurring. The government responded by establishing mass housing for Black urban workers, but under strict conditions, which excluded women. The marginalisation of women in housing delivery resulted in many of them taking jobs where accommodation was provided such as nursing and domestic service. Clermont township was established in the 1930s, during the years of rapid industrial development in South Africa. Due to availability of African-owned housing, which could be rented privately in Clermont, many industrial workers particularly women were able to find accommodation there. This trend continued, until the Nationalist Party government extended the right to rent housing in all townships to women. This occurred in the late 1970s. A case study of Clermont, (a township characterised by a freehold tenure), was undertaken to investigate the position of women in housing development, and how changes in the political situation have affected their access to housing. This thesis reveals that the number of households headed by women in Clermont township exceeds those headed by their male counterparts (53 per cent of women compared to 47 per cent of men in the sample). These women were mainly renters rather than house owners. Some of them implemented alternative strategies to access housing despite their low incomes, insecure jobs and the prevailing government restrictions. These strategies include illegal occupation of land (land invasion) owned by the state (nearby Clermont) and land owned by individual people in Clermont township. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) , which is the socio-economic policy framework of the Government of National Unity (elected in 1994), 'identified the provision of housing as a priority area. There are many programmes that have been implemented by this government in order to increase the housing access for women. It is unfortunate that these new programmes many not be accessible to some women, as most are still caught in a web of unemployment. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

This thesis recognises that quantitative research distances the researcher from the people who form part and parcel of squatter settlements. Therefore, in the course of analysing whether upgrading is a realistic option for the Ntchaweni squatter settlement, this qualitative study has not concerned itself with the activities of the inhabitants alone, or only with the buildings which house squatters, but investigates those units of experience within which physical form, activities and the degree of attachment that squatters have for the settlement of Ntchaweni are amalgamated to form place. A contention of this thesis if we are to plan successfully for squatter areas, it is necessary to understand that squatters have the potential to think and plan ahead for themselves. Squatter settlements are not necessarily the domain of criminals and unemployed people. The Ntchaweni squatter settlement is a complex place in which the inhabitants exhibit a strong attachment to the place.This validates the methodological emphasis on a people-place study of the squatter settlement, as does the acknowledged importance of community participation in upgrading schemes. In contrast, the "top-down" re-organising of squatter settlements into idealistic settlements conforming rigidly to some grand theory developed by technocrats cannot possibly help to alleviate the severe physical and social problems experienced in squatter areas. It is therefore necessary to arrive at a realistic option for the improvement of the Ntchaweni squatter settlement by analysing what the squatters perceive to be a suitable living environment. Any upgrading option for the Ntchaweni squatter settlement must also take into account the system which perpetrated the poor conditions evident in the study area. Within this context, the areal expansion of the Ntchaweni squatter settlement into its present size qualifies the notion that this place has an important function from a social, cultural and economic perspective. The historical development and the present political situation in the study area are both important considerations in a study which aims at investigating the betterment options for the area, be it site and service schemes or in situ upgrading. In order to gain a better understanding of squatter settlements, we must record both objective and subjective aspects of place. Together, these investigations put us into a position to discuss the possibilities for generating realistic options for designing and producing places suitable for human habitation in Ntchaweni. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1992.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.